National Historic Landmarks

National Historic Landmarks are properties recognized by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this distinction. These properties are nationally significant, in contrast to National Register of Historic Places listings which generally recognize properties of local or state significance. All National Historic Landmarks are automatically placed in the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, visit the National Historic Landmarks website: http://www.nps.gov/nhl/

Also known as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, the Denver & Rio Grande (DR&G) Railroad San Juan Extension was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 with additional documentation approved in 2005. The National Historic Landmark designation recognizes the railroad’s significance between 1879 and 1929, beginning with construction of this segment to when its modernization ceased. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, successor to the D&RG, did not substantially change operational or maintenance practices after 1929.

The 64-mile route straddles the Colorado-New Mexico border on the western edge of the San Luis Valley and is an outstanding representation of the larger 1,000-mile network that opened the central Rocky Mountain region for development. The right-of-way includes narrow gauge track in its original alignment, depots, water tanks, trestles, telegraphone booths, section houses, tunnels, livestock loading pens, ten steam locomotives, and over a hundred other pieces of rolling stock.

The so-called Narrow Gauge Movement of the late nineteenth century was one of the most distinctive epochs in American railroading. The network defined by the Denver &Rio Grande, its affiliated companies, and especially the San Juan Extension represented an ambitious, extensive, and successful expression of narrow gauge (36") railroading as a viable alternative to the prevailing system of standard gauge (52 ½") track. The segment served as a de facto narrow gauge "proof of concept" project demonstrating the ability of 36" railroads to penetrate mountainous regions, operate over long distances, and scale equipment and infrastructure to meet heavy traffic demand. (2010 photograph.) NHL nomination (PDF, 8.44 MB).National Register Listing.

Georgetown-Silver Plume Historic District
Off I-70 at Georgetown and Silver Plume, includes the entire commercial and residential areas of both communities, as well as the railroad grade connecting them
National Historic Landmark 11/13/1966, National Register 11/13/1966, 5CC.3

Bounded approximately by Grant to Cherokee streets and 14th to Colfax avenues, Denver Civic Center significantly evokes the City Beautiful movement and Beaux-Arts design principles in the areas of community planning and development, landscape architecture, architecture, and art.

As inspired by the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition and 1900 Macmillan Plan for Washington, D.C., Denver Civic Center evolved between 1890, with the beginning of construction of the Colorado State Capitol, and 1935, with the completion of the Denver City and County Building. The large urban park includes a landscape, buildings, and monuments designed by nationally renowned architects, landscape architects, and artists including Reinhard Schuetze, Charles Mulford Robinson, Frederick W. MacMonnies, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., Edward H. Bennett, Allen Tupper True, and Allied Architects Association.

As part of the broader City Beautiful movement and emergence of city planning, American cities such as Cleveland and Detroit developed civic centers in the early twentieth century. Most remained conceptual only, however, never receiving public support and funding. Meanwhile, Denver’s civic leaders articulated and actively pursued projects to improve and enhance their city. The election of Mayor Robert W. Speer in 1904 solidified the interest, means, and political will necessary to achieve community planning goals. During Speer’s three terms, Denver also expanded its city parks, established parkway and mountain park systems, increased private support for public improvements, and initiated comprehensive planning.

Denver Civic is significant architecturally as an American expression of Beaux-Arts classicism derived from historic motifs of ancient Greek and Roman architecture as translated by architects trained at the influential École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Other attributes of the style include: order, balance, symmetry, axial site planning, the juxtaposition of art and architecture, and logical progression through spaces. Three Beaux-Arts government buildings—the Denver Public Library (1910), Colorado State Museum (1915), and Colorado State Office Building (1921)—surround the historic designed landscape.

Contemporary landscape architects interested in the creation of public open space embraced Beaux-Arts axial planning and geometrical design. Denver Civic Center’s landscape integrates the surrounding buildings, works of art, and vistas into and out of the center while creating areas for diverse public use. Further, Denver Civic Center represents the essential role regional artists played, testifying to the city’s growing cultural sophistication as inspired by the magnificent landscape of the Rocky Mountain region and western heritage themes.

Previously listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1990 under Denver Mountain Parks, the historic district is nationally significant under the themes Developing the American Economy, in the area of governmental policies and practices, and Expressing Cultural Values in the areas of architecture and landscape architecture. The architect and builders are outlined as Burnham Hoyt, Stanley Morse, the Civilian Conservation Corps, National Park Service, Works Progress Administration, and U. S. Department of the Army. Significant between 1935-1959, the district exemplifies federal and local government collaborative planning, carried out with the manpower of the CCC, that developed public landscapes and advanced outdoor recreation during the mid-1930s. The nearly intact CCC camp is an outstanding example made all the more significant due to the inherent fragility of CCC camp buildings. The 1935-6 camp retains fourteen of the original fifteen camp buildings. The park is considered the “jewel” of the Denver Mountain Parks system, originally purchased in 1928, with amphitheater construction from 1936 to 1941 (2015 photograph; credit Astrid Liverman). More information

Listed in the National Register in June 1985, the Ludlow Tent Colony Site further meets National Historic Landmark criteria due to its association with a nationally significant, excessively violent event in American labor history, the Ludlow Massacre. The site also exhibits a high potential to yield information addressing significant research questions and representing data that contribute to our understanding of American labor history and the archaeological analysis of ethnicity and class interaction. In September 1913, coal miners and their families, evicted from company housing during a strike, moved into the tent colony, a camp established by the United Mine Workers of America. A day-long battle on April 20, 1914 between strikers, company guards, and the Colorado National Guard resulted in several deaths, including two women and eleven children. During the following ten days, miners retaliated in a a campaign that brought additional deaths and damage throughout the southern Colorado coalfield. Federal troops restored order and the strike ended in failure in December 1914. The United Mine Workers acquired and memorialized the site in 1918. (1914 photograph.) NHL nomination (PDF, 2.27 MB).National Register listing.

Trinidad

Raton Pass
12 miles south of Trinidad
National Historic Landmark 12/19/1960, National Register 10/15/1966, 5LA.2182

Silverton Historic District
US Hwy. 550, includes the entire city boundaries
National Historic Landmark 07/04/1961, National Register 10/15/1966,
Boundary Increase 4/3/1997, 5SA.59

San Miguel County

Telluride

Telluride Historic District
US Hwy. 145, roughly includes all of the commercial and residential area as well as the Lone Tree Cemetery to the east
National Historic Landmark 7/4/1961, National Register 10/15/1966, Boundary Adjustments: 12/1/1976, 9/30/1988, 5SM.752

Teller County

Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek Historic District
Colo. Hwy. 67, includes the entire commercial and residential area
National Historic Landmark 7/4/1961, National Register 10/15/1966, 5TL.2